


Beautiful Word

by Heiipi



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, POV First Person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-06
Updated: 2014-11-06
Packaged: 2018-02-24 09:23:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,133
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2576357
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Heiipi/pseuds/Heiipi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Love is our true destiny. We do not find the meaning of life by ourselves alone - we find it with another.”<br/>~ Thomas Merton</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beautiful Word

**Author's Note:**

  * For [umaibo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/umaibo/gifts).



> So... For some time now I've been writing fanfiction, but only for myself and my friends. But with the incentive of xYaoiDreamer I decided to quite being a lazy ass and (finally!) publish some. So this first one is for you, my dear friend. Thank you for you constant support! I owe you all <3

I was brooding all day. I was grumpy. I was stressed. More than that; I was sad. You see, today is _that_ day. A month ago my boyfriend left me. We had met in this very playground, and something between us had sparkled right away. Or at least I felt it that way; it was like my soul was being sucked out of my mouth… seems like a harsh thing, doesn’t it? But it’s the only way I can describe what I had felt, that breath-taking ecstatic sensation. I was in love with him. Always in love. _Still in love_?, I wonder. _I hope not, because all I loved, I loved alone._

I spent the whole morning on the verge of tears, utterly miserable, but I choke them down. All of them. There was no way I’d cry at my work place. I’m tired of making a fool out of myself. That’s why I came here, to the playground. It warms my heart as much as it shatters it. This was our special place. I came here to cry… but now, quietly sitting on the swing, my head held down, I’m finding myself unable to do so. I guess I’m just numb, tired of feeling too much, caring too much, loving too much. This feels like a small victory, a sign that I might not love him anymore – or at least not like I used to -, a sign that I’m getting my damn tiger pride back. I sign that I’m still myself.

‘What are you doing here?’ A curious voice asks out of the blue.

I lift my head just a bit and I find a little girl – no more than five years-old – with two piggy tails of pale pinkish hair and deep light-blue eyes. _God, I hate kids_.

‘What are _you_ doing here?’ I reply, sending her a threatening aura.

‘I like the swing’, she explains, sitting in the swing chair next to me. ‘And this is a children playground, you know?’ I nod, looking at her with a puzzled look. ‘So, what are you doing here? Are you a perv?’

‘ Wha-What?!’, I stutter, taken back by her question. _What the fuck?_

‘Mommy says men like you that creep around children’s playgrounds are pervs’, she explains, wiggling her legs.

‘Then you shouldn’t be talking to me, now should you?’ Maybe I can scare her off like this… I really wanted some time alone.

‘You don’t look like a perv. You look too sad.’

‘I could be a sad perv.’

She shakes her little head, making her piggy tails flip around. She looks cute, with her pretty face and her girly pink dress, but still… _urgh, children_.

‘You’re just sad.’

‘Where are you parents?’ I try to deviate the subject. There is something disturbing about that girl’s eyes, like if she sees right through me.

She shrugs her shoulders, relaxed and comfortable, like if her parents’ absence was something natural.

‘Mommy lost me. She’s not good at keeping an eye on me. She says I’m hard to spot.’

‘And your dad?’

‘Daddy is hard to spot too. Mommy says that’s annoying, but he is nice, very sweet. I love being with him.’

‘That’s not what I meant’, I sigh, impatient. ‘I was asking where your dad is.’

‘He was not with us today, but Mommy will call him for sure. Only Daddy can find me.’

Uneasy, I glance at the little girl. _Why me? From all people, why me?!_

‘Your mom must me worried. We should look for her, don’t you agree?’

‘She doesn’t worry… she never does. And you? You alone?’ She gives me another curious look.

‘I _was_ alone’, I stress. ‘And I would like to remain alone, do you understand?’

She nods. ‘But you shouldn’t be alone. Because you don’t look _just_ alone, or _just_ sad, you see? You look lonely.’

‘And you look too annoying’, I snap angrily. _I hate my life as much as I hate this brat._ ‘Can’t you play somewhere else?’

‘No. I’m a kid, I’m staying here. You can stay here too if you want. I let you. Daddy says people shouldn’t be alone, because no one can be happy alone. “We need our beloved ones to find our destiny” – his words.’

‘That’s bullsh-’, I cough, muffling my own cusses. ‘I mean, that actually sounds nice’, I admit at the end. And those are, indeed, beautiful words, and it would take a pretty smart kid to remember them. ‘Your parents must be really happy.’

‘They’re not’, she drops with ease. ‘Not together, I mean. Mommy found someone, but he’s scary. He doesn’t like me very much, but that’s okay; I don’t like him too.’

‘Oh, I see’, I whisper, feeling a little sorry for the girl, but I’m an adult – I know that sometimes things just don’t work, and people are happier alone… although the girl’s father won’t agree with me. ‘And what about your dad?’

‘He has me, so he isn’t lonely. But he’s alone… and Mommy says it’s because he’s different.’

‘”Different”?’, I wonder, glancing at her. ‘”Different” how?’

She looks at me, equally oblivious.

‘Don’t know. He seems pretty normal to me. But I’m sad because he deserves someone. Someone good.’ She stares at me with glowing eyes. ‘And you? Why you lonely?’

‘I… I had someone… a friend, let’s say. But he… he left.’

‘He died?’, she asks with her eyes wide open.

‘No!’, I shout back, startled. ‘He just had to leave the country. And only bothered to let me know in his last day here.’

‘That’s selfish of him!’, she exclaims, outraged. ‘You loved him?’

‘Wha… You mean… I-I..’, I stutter. _Really, what the hell is wrong with me?_ Stuttering while talking to a nosy brat, actually feeling my checks fluster? _Get a grip, man!_ ‘Yeah, I loved him. But not anymore. I still feel sad from time to time, but I’ll be okay.’

‘Yes, you will’, she says like she knows it for sure. It’s so easy for them; for kids, I mean. It’s easy to be happy, to love, to laugh... to live. But someday this girl will grow up and she’ll see how harsh and unfair the world is; how cruel people can be. I actually feel sorry for her, for this beautiful innocence that will be ripped from her. And I feel sorry for me as well. I grew up to be a stern adult with a frowned brow and never with a smile to show. I know I’m being really dramatic over here, but damn!, I really miss being a kid!

I get up with a nostalgic smile, shyly ruffling the girl’s pink hair.

‘Where you going?’, she asks.

‘I’m leaving.’

‘Please don’t go’, she pleas, gripping her hands in the swing chair’s chains. ‘I want you to stay.’

‘I…I…’ I really don’t want to stay, but something deep inside of me pushes me to do so. ‘Sure, why not?’

‘Great!’ She smiles, her eyes sparkling. _She has beautiful eyes._ ‘I think you’re nice. Can you push the swing? I can’t make it move.’

‘Okay, hang tight.’ I approach the swing chair and give the girl a gentle push in the back. ‘My name’s Taiga, by the way.’

‘I’m Youko’, she replies with a laugh. ‘Can you push harder?’

 _How troublesome_ , I think, rolling my eyes. But for some reason I find myself smiling and saying:

‘As long as you hang on tightly.’

I give her two more firm pushes, and the swing rapidly increases its speed. Up high, with the wind messing her hair and her legs wiggling freely, she laughs happily, her eyes wide shut, without a care or a fear in this world. Youko makes me want to laugh, and that’s what I do. As I watch her, I let out a laugh; a long honest one, for a change. Nothing like a sore stomach after a good laugh; it feels like happiness.

‘That was amazing!’, she giggles as the swing paces down, and I don’t know if she’s talking about my laugh or her ride.

‘It really was’, I agree nonetheless. I make my way to the swing chair, ready to ask Youko if she’d like me to push her once more, but something catches my eye. A man wearing casual clothes, short and pale with blue hair. He approaches us running anxiously, his cheeks all flustered.

‘Youko!’, he cries, spreading his arms.

As she hears his voice, a bright smile appears in the girl’s lips, and she jumps from the chair.

‘Daddy!’

Youko runs towards the man and they both tangle themselves in a tight warm huge.

‘Youko, oh my God!’, the man cries with sparkling blue eyes. ‘You got me so worried.’

‘Why, Daddy? I was just having fun’, she explains innocently.

‘But you cannot leave your mother’s side, do you understand, Youko?’, he insists, kissing her hair.

‘But I was there, Daddy! _She_ left me. Like I was invisible, you know?’

For some reason the blue-haired man finds this hilarious and laughs happily while picking up his daughter.

‘I know, Youko, I know.’

‘So you’re not mad?’, she wants to know, gripping her father’s neck.

‘I’m not, Youko. Just… try to follow your mother next time, okay?’

‘’kay’, she agrees, resting her head in the man’s shoulder. ‘But I hope next time you’re here too.’

‘I’ll try’, he promises.

He then glances at me, and only now I realize I’ve been standing here by the swing looking at them, like some pedobear or some shit.

‘I’m sorry, your kid was lost and I was here, and I… I’m leaving’, I mumble in a silly explanation, embarrassed. _Damn, he has some beautiful piercing eyes!_

‘I’m sorry if Youko caused you any trouble’, he apologizes with a shy smile. ‘She gets lost easily.’

‘No problem’, I whisper. ‘She’s a great kid.’

‘Yes, she is. Youko is my little treasure. Thank you, once again. Nice to meet you, I’m Kuroko.’

He holds out his free hand, and I take it. His skin is smooth and white, his voice soft and calm, eyes blue and still as water… _Beautiful… He’s beautiful_ , is the only thing that comes to my mind, before I realize that once again I’m just silently staring at him.

‘I’m Kagami. Nice to meet you too.’

He smiles once more, and I’m glad he does. His lips are delicate and pink, and form the most gorgeous smile I’ve ever seen. As my heart starts to beat faster, I realize I’d give anything to have a smile like that… or someone that would smile like that for me.

‘Are you okay?’, the man wonders, his sharp eyes analyzing me.

‘Yeah… I’m… fine.’

Youko moves in Kuroko’s arm, secretly whispering something in his ear.

‘I’m going now’, I announce, all flustered and uncomfortable. _God, what a weird day!_

‘Don’t leave, Taiga-kun’, Youko asks.

‘Yeah, you can stay with us if you want’, Kuroko invites me with a pleasant expression, as Youko gives me a wink.

That’s a nice thing to hear. It’s good when someone wants to spend more time with us; it makes us feel cherished, wanted, like we belong somewhere… But you see – when you’ve been hurt so much it’s not easy to be around people, to let them in, to allow yourself to care or to suffer for someone other than yourself.

‘Thanks, but I’m fine. I’ll get going’, I excuse myself.

‘No, wait!’ With a jolt, Kuroko grabs my wrist. ‘Don’t go alone. I would _really_ like to have a coffee with _you_ , you know…’

I stare at him with a confused expression. And he is still baring that beautiful smile.

‘A coffee?’ _Like… a date?_

‘Yeah… Only if you want to’, he mumbles shyly. ‘But since you don’t feel like it, it’s okay. I’m sorry to trouble you, Kagami-san.’

‘No, no, wait… Why not? Coffee is fine, I love coffee. So, anytime you want…’

‘How about now?’

Well, this is escalating quickly!

‘Okay. Fine by me.’

And he smiles at me. Again with that beautiful warm smile, bright like the sun. A smile that can be mine for a little longer… or even more.

I smile back at him, and I know what this is; this feels like falling in love. And it feels good. It’s not that suffocating sensation I was used to. No, it’s nothing of the sorts. It feels so right and amazing!

‘Let’s get going then? Together?’

I nod happily, starting to walk next to Kuroko. If I just could see him smile once more, if I could just make Youko laugh again… maybe if we stay together, like this... Perhaps feeling my nervousness Kuroko glances at me and gives me a reassuring smile. _Yeah, together_. That’s a beautiful word.


End file.
